


Check Yes, Juliet

by poeticfish



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - High School, Depression, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Running Away, Sick Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-07-18 16:25:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 11,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7322371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poeticfish/pseuds/poeticfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The best way to read Romeo and Juliet is to read it out loud in class, and the best readers in the class are Dean and Castiel. The best way to stop feeling trapped is to run away, and the best person to do that with is the person you love. Not that Dean and Cas have any other choice, at this point- Cas is sick, and it is officially the two of them against the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. scene i

Castiel was focusing intently on a green leaf that was slowly falling from the tree above, and Dean would have thought that he wasn’t listening if he hadn’t known Castiel better by now.

“I don’t want to do this,” Dean said, shifting in his seat on the school steps a bit. 

“By  _ this,  _ do you mean the play, or-” Castiel stopped to catch the leaf- “the current situation?”

Dean stared down at the packet he was holding- his English teacher had printed out copies of  _ Romeo and Juliet  _ for everyone in his class. “What do you mean by that? What’s the current situation?”

“I figured there was a reason we’ve been sitting here for twenty minutes after school ended.” Castiel turned to look at his friend. “You’re stalling because you don’t want to go home.”

“Well, I meant the play.” Dean paused, refusing to acknowledge what Castiel just said. “You got off easy. You only have to be some random citizen with, like, two lines. Why the Hell would Mr. Sharma pick me to be Romeo?”

Castiel shrugged. “You’ve never been picked to read outloud in class. You should take it as a compliment, though, Dean. That means he thinks you can handle one of the lead parts.” There was silence for a few seconds before Castiel spoke again, only interrupted by a heavy sigh from Dean. “Are you ready to walk home?”

Dean pressed his lips together and tried to think of an answer to that question. He knew he had to walk home eventually, but right now, in the time between a stressful day at school and a stressful night at home, he felt okay. And he knew that this would be the only time he felt okay until this exact time the next day, sitting on the steps of the school he wanted so desperately to be done with, next to Castiel. That was the only time he felt okay lately, and he wasn’t ready to let go of that just yet. “Few more minutes?”

“Alright.”

Castiel opened his palm and let the summer breeze take the leaf away, and the pair watched it until it was out of sight.


	2. scene ii

Dean dropped his bag on the floor near the doorway as he stepped inside his house, immediately greeted by the smell of alcohol and cigarettes.

“Fuckin’ disgusting,” Dean muttered, looking around to see if anyone else was home. The kitchen was empty, but the blue backpack that had been thrown on the table definitely meant that his little brother was home. Then he heard the loud coughing coming from upstairs, a good indicator that his dad was home, as well.

Dean sighed looked at the packet he was still holding, the entire script to _Romeo and Juliet_. He knew he should probably start to read through it so that his first time reading it wouldn’t be tomorrow, in front of the entire class, but that wasn’t enough to actually motivate him to read the play. He had more important things to do right now, like finding his brother.

It didn’t take long. Sam was in the living room, watching some boring documentary on TV.

“Hi,” Dean greeted, sitting down on the couch next to Sam and putting his packet on the coffee table. “You’re not doing your homework. I’m surprised.”

“Oh, yeah, well, it’s getting to be the end of the year, so we don’t really get a lot of homework anymore,” Sam answered, and Dean immediately noticed that he seemed strangely nervous.

“Still have at least a month left,” Dean replied with a shrug. “Something wrong?”

“Nope,” Sam responded quickly, not taking his eyes away from the television.

Dean stared at him for a few seconds, knowing for a fact that Sam was lying, but also knowing for a fact that continuing to ask him questions wasn’t going to get him very far. “You hungry?”

“Yeah, kind of,” Sam admitted.

“Mac and cheese?”

“Sure.”

Dean stood up, and before he could even leave the room, they heard their father coughing again upstairs.

“He sounds like he’s dying,” Sam commented.

Dean nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “And this is why you should never drink.”

“Didn’t you come home drunk a few weeks ago?”

“No!” Dean exclaimed. “That was… I was just… _Moderation_ , Sammy.” Dean paused. “Plus, I really thought I could drink more than Cas. I didn’t know he was basically incapable of getting drunk.”

Sam laughed a little. “S’okay. Long as you never turn into Dad.”

“Are you kidding? I’d probably die of alcohol poisoning before turning into Dad.”

Dean left the living room to go start making the mac and cheese in the kitchen, and Sam picked up the packet that Dean had left on the table. When he saw that it was _Romeo and Juliet_ , his eyebrows shot up, immediately seeing the perfect chance to tease his brother.

“Hey, Dean,” Sam said, leaning against the doorway that led to the kitchen.

Dean, who was currently working on getting some water to boil, looked over at him. “Yeah?”

“ _Romeo and Juliet,_ huh?”

Dean groaned. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

“I didn’t think seniors read this play.”

“We finished everything early,” Dean said, somewhat miserably. “My teacher had nothing left for us to do for the rest of the year, so now we’re reading this. Out loud. In class.”

Sam laughed. “And who do you have to be?”

“No one.”

“That’s a lie. Who do you have to be? Romeo?”

Dean scoffed. “No. That would be stupid.” Sam stared at Dean with one eyebrow raised until Dean finally gave in. “Okay, fine. Yes. I’m Romeo.”

Dean rolled his eyes, and Sam giggled. “Now, if only Castiel was Juliet.”

“Nah, Cas got off easy. He only has a couple lines. I’m pretty jealous, I don’t-” Dean was interrupted by his father yelling his name upstairs, and he threw the box of mac and cheese he was holding onto the counter. “Goddammit. Guess I have to go deal with that. Hang on, Sammy.”

Dean went upstairs, knowing that if he ignored his father, things would be a lot worse than if he faced whatever was about to happen.

His dad’s bedroom was dark, and Dean was thankful that he was still wearing shoes, because the first thing he heard when he entered the room was the sound of glass crunching underneath his foot. “Dad..?”

And there was John WInchester, sitting on the floor, leaning against his bed. He was holding a half-empty bottle of beer and staring at the ceiling. “Dean, I can’t find my work clothes.”

“Can… Can I turn the light on?” Dean asked quietly. He received no answer, so he decided to just take the chance and flick the light switch.

It only took Dean a few seconds to find the dark blue uniform that his dad wore to his job at a gas station, scrunched up in a corner of the room. With a sigh, he walked over to it and picked it up before gently placing it on the floor in front of John.

“There you go, Dad. It’s right there, okay?”

John glanced over at some of the broken glass on the floor. “The picture fell.”

Dean turned around and saw a framed, now-broken picture of his mother on the floor. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, but swallowed hard and chose to ignore it. “Oh. That’s… That’s okay. We’ll get a new frame.”

John wasn’t saying anything, so Dean took that as a sign that he was safe to leave now. He hurried out of the room, resisting the urge to look back at his father.

“What happened?” Sam asked when his brother came back downstairs.

“Nothing happened,” Dean assured him. Before he could say anything else, the two brothers heard the sound of glass breaking from upstairs, and Dean’s first thought was that they should probably get out of there. “Hey, turn the stove off for me, okay? We’re going to Cas’s house.”

Sam just nodded in response. Ever since Castiel had first told Dean that they could go to his house whenever they needed to, they’d had to take him up on the offer several times. Neither of the brothers wanted to be around their father when he was angry.

As they walked out the front door, the last thing they could hear inside the house was the sound of more glass breaking.


	3. scene iii

When Sam and Dean knocked on the front door of Castiel's house, they were greeted by Castiel's father. Dean didn't know very much about him other than the fact that he was the most religious person Dean had ever met, and was always overly nice to him and Sam.

The man tilted his head to the side and smiled. "Sam and Dean Winchester! It's always nice to see you here."

Dean smiled and tried to appear as polite as possible, but he was really not in the mood for that at the moment. "Hi, Mr. Novak. We just came to see Cas."

"Ah, of course. Come on in, he's upstairs."

The brothers thanked him and immediately went upstairs to Castiel's room. Dean knocked on the door, but it wasn't closed all the way, so it pushed open a bit.

"Yeah, I know," Castiel was saying, and Dean could see that he was talking on the phone. "Trust me, I know. I'm not going to tell him. ...Thank you, Gabriel." He hung up, and then noticed that Sam and Dean were there. "Oh, sorry. Come in."

They entered the room, closing the door behind them, and took their usual seats- Dean sat on the bed next to Castiel and Sam sat cross-legged on the floor.

"That sounded important," Dean commented, referring to Castiel's phone call. He recognized the name Gabriel as being the name of Castiel's older brother, who was currently away at college.

"Yeah... I was just, um, telling my brother about the... thing."

"Oh!" Dean exclaimed. "You told him?"

"I think he kind of already knew."

"How did he take it?"

"Perfectly," Castiel replied. "He's not at all the one I've been worried about."

Sam and Dean both knew exactly what was going on. If Castiel told his father that he was not exactly straight (gay? Bi? Who knew? Not him, at least), there was a very good chance he would be kicked out of the house. Cas's dad was friendly until someone did something that he didn't like, with his only justification being something from the Bible.

"I'm sorry," Dean said. "I would offer for you to come to our place whenever you need to, but you already offered that to us and that's kind of the reason we're here."

"Speaking of that," Sam spoke up, "I'm still hungry."

"Not to worry," Castiel assured him, hopping off the bed to join Sam on the floor. He then reached under his bed and pulled out a box, immediately causing Sam and Dean to smile, because they both knew what was in there. Castiel took the lid off to reveal as many snacks as he could have possibly stuffed into that box. "There are a few bottles of water under there somewhere, too."

"You're fuckin' awesome, Cas. How the Hell do you even _get_ all of this?" Dean questioned. "If your dad knew you had this, he would _actually_ shit himself." That was probably true. Castiel's dad was obsessed with healthy food for some reason.

"Which is why I keep it hidden," Castiel agreed. "Gabriel sends me a little bit of money every month for stuff that he knows Dad won't buy me... like this. He's got a job now. It's great."

Dean nodded. "Very great."

The next few hours were spent eating whatever snacks Castiel had in that box, as well as practicing reading _Romeo and Juliet_. Cas insisted that Dean had to practice before he actually read outloud in class the next day, because he could tell that Dean was nervous about it.

However, after reading a few lines, Castiel decided that he shouldn't be. "You're reading it perfectly, Dean."

"You sound surprised."

"You were nervous for nothing," Castiel replied happily. "You have nothing to worry about."

"Well, yeah, I can read it in front of _you_ ," Dean said, hugging his knees against his chest, "but reading it out loud in class is different. I might mess it up."

"I think everyone is going to mess up," Castiel pointed out. "But you can just pretend you're only reading it to me and Sam."

Sam shook his head. "No, don't pretend you're reading it in front of me. I would absolutely laugh at you for messing up."

Castiel giggled, but abruptly stopped when Dean glared at him.

Dean sighed. "I am so happy that this year is ending soon. I can't wait to be done with school."

"Me either," Castiel agreed.

The last memory Dean had of that night was falling asleep on the floor of Cas's bedroom next to Sam.


	4. scene iv

The next morning, as Dean walked to school with Cas, he noticed that his friend kept coughing, sort of a lot. At least enough to make Dean worry a bit.

“Are you okay?” Dean questioned, looking at Castiel, who was walking by his side.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Castiel said, in between coughs. “This has been happening ever since I was sick a couple weeks ago.”

“Maybe you should see a doctor.”

Castiel shook his head. “No, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. You have enough to worry about today.” Dean gave him a confused look, and Castiel rolled his eyes before explaining what he meant by that. “Do not try to tell me, Dean, that this whole Shakespeare thing is not giving you crippling anxiety.”

“Psh. It’s not.” Dean paused, and Castiel gave him that _you’re a lying little shit and we both know it_ look. “Okay, okay, fine. Maybe it’s giving me a _little_ anxiety.”

“ _Crippling_ anxiety,” Castiel corrected.

“Shut up.”

They didn’t have English class until last period, which sounds like it might be a good thing because that meant Dean didn’t have to deal with it until the end of the day, but it was actually very much a bad thing because Castiel may have been right about the whole crippling anxiety thing. Dean knew he should not have been so nervous about reading out loud in class. He didn’t even know why this was stressing him out so badly, but it really was.

When it was finally time for English, Dean took his usual seat in the back, next to Castiel.

“Today is the day you have all been waiting for,” their English teacher, Mr. Sharma, announced excitedly. “You don’t understand how happy I am about this. I know you probably hate me right now, but I’m happy so it’s cool.”

Dean pressed his lips together as Mr. Sharma hopped up to sit on his desk at the front of the room. The idea of someone being excited about a Shakespeare play seemed strange to him.

They began reading the play, with everyone taking their turns to read their individual parts. The fact that everyone kind of sucked (with the exception of Castiel, who, of course, read the few lines he had flawlessly) was actually pretty comforting to Dean. Maybe he’d fit right in.

As it turned out, when Dean finally had a few lines to read, he did _not_ fit in at _all._ He read his lines as perfectly as Castiel did, not messing up on a single word, not stuttering or tripping over his words like he thought he was going to. He was in the middle of a sentence when the bell rang, and breathed a sigh of relief to hear the sound that meant the day was over.

“Before you go, I have to tell you one more thing!” Sharma exclaimed, stopping a couple students from walking out the door. “I thought you might appreciate knowing that on your final exam, you won’t be tested on _Romeo and Juliet_ because it wasn’t required for us to read it, but you _will_ have the opportunity to earn some extra credit on the exam by answering some extra questions about the play. Which could really help some of you! Okay, that’s all, go home!”

Students started emptying out of the classroom, and Dean stood by Castiel’s desk while Castiel packed up his notebooks and whatever else he’d taken out during class. While Dean was waiting for him to be ready to walk home, he overheard a conversation between Mr. Sharma and another student- the girl who’d been chosen to read for the part of Juliet.

“I’m going to be visiting family for a while and I won’t be back until the last week of school for exams,” the girl told him.

“Ah, okay. Well, I’ll get you some of the stuff you’re going to miss.”

Mr. Sharma handed her some papers and the girl left, which meant the only students left in the room were Dean and Castiel.

“Looks like I’m going to need someone else for the role of Juliet,” Mr. Sharma said thoughtfully.

Dean shrugged, really just thankful that it wouldn’t be him who had to take the part. He was already Romeo, there was no way the English teacher could do that to him.

“You know, Castiel,” Mr. Sharma continued, “it’s such a shame you only had a few lines. You read beautifully.”

“Thank you,” Castiel replied. “But I’m, uh, I’m completely fine with only having a few lines.”

“Well, I think you should have more,” Mr. Sharma declared. “I think you should read for Juliet’s part from now on.”

Dean’s eyebrows shot up and he looked at his friend, eager to see his reaction.

“I think Juliet is meant to be a girl,” Castiel responded, shaking his head.

“Oh, that’s okay,” Mr. Sharma replied, waving his hand dismissively. “A male Juliet is fine! Besides, all the girls already have parts.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Dean spoke up, and looked at Castiel with a smirk. “If I have to suffer, you have to suffer with me.”

Castiel sighed heavily. “Alright, fine. I’ll be Juliet.”

Mr. Sharma smiled and nodded in approval.

“Now come on,” Dean said to his friend. “Let’s get outta here, Juliet.”


	5. scene v

"I can't do it anymore," Dean decided, closing his notebook and tossing it aside. He leaned back against Castiel's bed and looked at his friend, who was sitting across from him on the floor. "I can't analyze this Goddamn play anymore."

Castiel sighed, putting his laptop down. "Dean, you know you need this extra credit on the exam, and you know the types of questions Mr. Sharma gives us. We need to fully understand every line if we even have a chance of getting the extra credit."

Dean knew Cas was right. He really did need the extra credit, seeing as if he did badly on the exam (which, really, Dean was pretty sure that would be the case) there was a possibility that he would fail English for the year. His grade right now was only high enough to be passing, and the exam would count for twenty percent of his grade. "I know. But I'm so sick of this and it's only the first day of reading it." He paused, and then smirked. "Speaking of that, are you excited to be Juliet?"

Castiel rolled his eyes, his cheeks turning slightly red. "No. I don't want to be Juliet, and I don't want to have a big part." 

"Now you know how it feels."

They continued to read through the part of the play they'd read in class that day, and after a while, Dean was very much ready to be done for the night. Castiel was getting bored as well, so instead of continuing to study, they decided to eat junk food and do nothing for a while.

"So, what's the first thing you're going to do when you graduate?" Castiel questioned, opening a bag of chips.

Dean pondered the question. He hadn't really thought that far ahead, as if he never expected to make it that far- which, honestly, he didn't. The fact that he'd be done with high school in only a few weeks seemed like a miracle to him. "I'm not sure. I want to get a job and make enough money for me and Sammy to move out, I think. We could get an apartment and be away from our dad, finally. Sam's been different lately, I gotta get him out of there."

"That would be great," Castiel commented. 

"Apartments are expensive, though," Dean said sadly, but then added, "So I guess you'll have to get a job and be our roommate."

"I don't know if that was a joke or not," Castiel began, "but I am one hundred percent up for that."

"Seriously?" Dean questioned, both eyebrows raised. "I thought you were gonna go to college and stuff. I mean, you're so smart."

"I don't know," Castiel said slowly. "That's what my dad wanted me to do, but... I mean, as of now I haven't been accepted to any, and I don't really know anymore... But I know I can't stay with my dad anymore. It's only a matter of time before he figures out that I'm not even religious. ...Or straight."

"Yeah, and considering he literally named you after an angel, he probably wouldn't take that well." Dean took a handful of chips from the bag in Castiel's lap. "Well, then it looks like getting an apartment together _would_  be a good idea. Me and Sam want to get away from our alcoholic dad, you want to get away from your religious dad, so why not?"

His friend nodded in agreement. "It's not like we actually know what we're doing. Shake on it?"

Dean nodded. They shook hands and suddenly, it was like some kind of weight was lifted off of Dean's shoulders. He hadn't even realized how stressed he was about high school ending and real life beginning, and now that there was somewhat of a plan, everything seemed... better. 

Knowing that Castiel was going to continue being a part of his life after graduation was a huge relief. It had been about a year since Dean realized that literally nothing in high school mattered and decided to let go of the people he'd previously _thought_ were his friends, and that was when he realized that the quiet kid who sometimes said hello to him in English class could be worth talking to. Ever since then, Castiel had been one of the best parts of his life, and he knew the future would be okay if they were in it together. 

After a few seconds of being lost in thought, Dean was snapped back into reality by the sound of Castiel coughing to the point where his face turned red.

"You've been coughing a lot lately," Dean said, definitely now getting concerned. 

Castiel took a sip of water before replying. "I'm sure it's fine. Just from the cold I had before."

"You sure you shouldn't see a doctor or something?"

"I'm okay."

The previous feeling of relief was now replaced with a bad feeling in Dean's chest. He couldn't tell whether it was caused by being worried about Castiel, being worried about how different Sam seemed lately, or being worried about passing his English exam.


	6. scene vi

When Dean got home that night, he was incredibly relieved to see that his dad had already left for work. (Or, well, maybe not for work, but he was out of the house and that was all that really mattered.)

"Sammy?" Dean called, dropping his backpack on the floor near the doorway. "You here, Sam?"

He looked in the living room and when his little brother was nowhere to be found, he went upstairs. The door to Sam's bedroom was slightly opened, and when Dean knocked, it opened the rest of the way. Sam was sitting cross-legged on his bed with papers spread out everywhere. There were beat-up notebooks on the floor, along with emptied-out binders and a broken pen that had spilled some ink on the carpet. Sam himself was focusing on what looked like some kind of paperwork (or really, really complicated homework with extremely tiny print), and Dean was confused. Sam was normally a lot more organized than this.

"Uh, you okay, Sammy?" Dean questioned, observing the unusual scene.

Sam hadn't even noticed that his brother was there until he said anything, and he quickly flipped over the paper he was writing on. "Oh, hi, Dean."

"What's that paper?"

The middle-schooler shrugged. "Nothing. Homework."

"What kind of homework?"

There was a pause. "English homework."

"Okay... Um... Are you hungry?" Dean asked. "Did you have anything to eat while I was at Cas's house?"

Sam shook his head, swallowing hard. "Uh, no, I didn't. Let's eat something."

"Sounds good," Dean replied. He decided to just ignore Sam's slightly off behavior. It could have just been all in his head.

They went downstairs and Dean got to work on trying to cook something. He actually couldn't really cook at all, but he was great at making Sam think that he could. Sam said he wanted grilled cheese, but there was no actual cheese in the house, so Dean had to figure something else out. His solution was to make what he called Grilled Mac and Cheese; essentially just a normal grilled cheese, but with mac and cheese instead of real cheese. Sam was impressed by this invention.

"Dean, I have to tell you something," Sam said slowly after they'd been sitting at the table and eating for a couple of minutes. "I don't want to keep hiding this from you."

"Go ahead," Dean replied, trying to remain calm but actually a bit nervous. It wasn't often that Sam acted strange, but lately, that was exactly what was happening, and Dean was hoping that he was finally going to find out why.

"I'm... I'm not going to be going to your high school next year," Sam said.

Now, Dean was just confused. He didn't even know of any other schools in the area. With Sam's grades, he could have gotten into some kind of gifted school or something, but why would he even hide that in the first place? "Then what school are you going to?"

Sam bit his lips and took a breath before answering. "A boarding school in South Dakota, near where Uncle Bobby lives." He watched for his brother's reaction, but Dean looked too shocked to say anything. "Dad and Bobby both thought it was a good idea. I'm... I don't want to leave you, Dean, but you're probably gonna move out soon anyway and I can't stay around Dad. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to think that you couldn't make things better for me. That isn't it at all. I just think this will make everything a lot easier for everyone..."

He trailed off, and Dean sighed. He felt a little bit like a failure, and he felt a little bit useless, and he really felt like he was going to miss his brother. But this was probably for the best.


	7. scene vii

“You ready to study?” Castiel questioned, one eyebrow raised.

Dean groaned. He was not, in fact, ready to study. “I don’t know, man. I couldn’t even focus when I was reading in class today. I don’t remember anything.”

“That’s exactly why we’re studying,” Castiel responded, taking his notebook out of his bag.

His heart was in a good place, Dean knew that. And he also knew that he really did need to study, seeing as the extra credit on the exam could have been the deciding factor on whether or not he passed. Despite being pretty good at reading Shakespeare (which was a completely new discovery), Dean wasn’t so great in English class otherwise. He also wasn’t so great at concentrating when all he could think of was the fact that he let his brother down.

Castiel could clearly see that Dean’s mind was wandering, and he figured it was because of the news Dean had filled him in on at lunch that day. He knew better than to actually bring up the problem; that was _not_ the way to comfort Dean WInchester. So he decided to change the subject. “I still can’t believe we’re literally Romeo and Juliet together.”

“Yeah, me either,” Dean said, managing a small smile. “I mean, I think it makes sense to have me as Romeo, but the fact that you’re Juliet…”

Castiel rolled his eyes. “Yes, it’s hilarious.”

“It is.”

“Take out your damn notebook,” Castiel replied, causing Dean to laugh but then do as he said anyway.

They spent a little while re-reading certain parts of the play that they’d gone over in class, as well as reviewing their notes.

“So basically,” Dean was saying, “the point she’s trying to make is that a name shouldn’t mean anything.”

Castiel bit his lip. “Yeah… Yeah, I think so.”

“You don’t sound so sure for someone who is literally Juliet.”

“I swear to God, Dean.” Castiel paused, realizing that if his father had heard him say that he would’ve been grounded. “Uh, I mean… Gosh.”

“You swear to Gosh?”

“Yes.”

And Dean laughed again, which was really nice to hear.

Surprisingly enough, studying the play really wasn’t bad. It got Dean’s mind off of things for a while, and that was definitely a good thing. Spending time with Castiel seemed to make things so much better, even if they were doing something that Dean found to be as simple and boring as studying.

Eventually, though, Dean knew he had to go home. He couldn’t leave Sam alone for too long if their dad was there; he knew nothing too bad would probably happen, but he wasn’t going to risk letting Sam get screamed at or something. If his dad was having a bad day, there was no limit to what he could get mad at.

“Well, thank you for this,” Dean said to Cas, standing up from his spot on his friend’s floor.

Castiel smirked. “For forcing you to study?”

Dean shrugged and nodded. “Yeah.”

“You had fun?”

“It could have been worse!”

“I mean, I’ll take it,” Castiel replied. He hesitated for a second, not sure if he should really say anything else, but ultimately decided that he was too worried about his friend to just let him leave. “Hey, are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” Dean assured him, although he wasn’t completely positive that he believed that himself. “I’m upset about Sam. But things are gonna get better. High school is ending and things are gonna get better.”

Castiel nodded confidently. “High school is ending and we’re going to move in together. Sam’s going to need a place to stay when he comes back to visit Kansas, after all.”

“That’s true,” Dean agreed. “Thanks, Cas.”

After saying their goodbyes for the night, Dean left Castiel’s room. As he made his way down the hallway, the last thing he heard from his friend before leaving was the sound of him coughing.


	8. scene viii

Sam had been quiet around Dean ever since he’d finally told him the big secret he’d been hiding. He felt guilty for lying and he felt even more guilty knowing that the news had probably really hurt his brother. He also felt guilty that being so quiet and distanced was only making things worse, but he couldn’t help it.

Dean wanted to fix this. He wanted to make it so that Sam didn’t feel guilty anymore, but he couldn’t find the right words to do so. He also couldn’t find the courage to actually sit down and talk to his brother; Dean was never really any good at these types of things.

That was all Dean could think of during English class. He would have to go home in only about a half hour, and he’d have to face Sam, which was becoming almost as big of a challenge as dealing with his dad- just in a much different way.

Dean was so lost in his thoughts that he’d zoned out of the current page of _Romeo and Juliet_ that the class was reading together, and he was completely unaware of the line he was supposed to be reading. Castiel had to nudge his arm to let him know that it was his turn to read. “Oh, uh… _Courage, man. The hurt cannot be much._ ”

After that, he tried his best to pay attention enough to know when he had a line, but Cas still had to help him out a couple times. Dean was more than a little jealous that Juliet had no lines at all in this scene, so Castiel wasn’t going through the same pain as him. However, that jealousy completely disappeared when they moved on to the next scene and Juliet had a page-long monologue.

Dean listened to Castiel read, trying to only focus on that and nothing else. Somehow, Cas never failed to distract him from everything else that was going on. He never failed to make his head stop hurting and he never failed to help him keep his grip on reality.

_“Come, civil night,_

_Thou sober-suited matron, all in black…”_

Dean didn’t know what any of the Juliet’s monologue meant, but he knew that he enjoyed hearing Castiel reading it as much as he enjoyed their walks home from school and their after-school study sessions. Though Dean could not figure out the meaning of the words that Castiel read so comfortably, as if they were the most familiar thing in the world to him, he did know that they were almost as nice to hear as the time Cas told Dean that he and Sam were welcome to go to his house whenever they needed to get away from their father.

“ _Come, night. Come, Romeo. Come, thou day in night…_ ”

That was when something clicked. Something had to change- Dean needed to turn things around for himself. He wasn’t going to be much help to Sam (or himself, for that matter) if he was constantly unhappy. If things stayed the way they were, Sam was going to move away still feeling as distanced from Dean as he did right now, and Dean figured it was only a matter of time before Castiel got so frustrated with his constant unhappiness that he distanced himself, as well. Something had to change, and Dean knew what he wanted to do. He knew what would make him happy.

Luckily, Romeo was not in this scene, so Dean had plenty of time to think about how he was going to do this. He figured it had to be done immediately, before he could give himself a chance to think about it too much. As Castiel was finishing up reading Juliet’s monologue, Dean discreetly took out a notebook and a pen. He quickly scribbled something down, ripped the page out, and shoved the notebook back into his bag.

Shortly after that the bell rang, and people started packing up their things and leaving the classroom.

“No one wants to stay and help me water my plants?” Mr. Sharma questioned, watching his students leave. “Well, alright, but you’re missing out.”

The corner of Dean’s mouth twitched, but he couldn’t actually smile at the overused joke that his teacher repeated at least a couple times a week. When he tried to figure out the reason behind his inability to smile at the moment, he realized it was because of the overwhelming feeling of butterflies in his stomach.

“I’m so glad it’s Friday,” Castiel said, putting some books in his backpack.

Dean swallowed hard. “Me, too.”

“We should study this weekend,” Castiel suggested. “I’ve got a chemistry test next week, and I was wondering if I could see the notes you took in your class.”

Dean nodded, and then realized that this was it- this was his chance. He looked around at the few students who were still left in the classroom, and then spoke quietly enough so that only his friend could hear him. “Sure. Um, I actually have another note for you, too.”

Castiel zipped his bag and looked up at him. “Hm..?”

Dean handed him the piece of paper. That was it, no going back now. Instead of watching Castiel read the note, Dean looked at the front of the room and watched his English teacher water one of the plants that he kept on his desk.

Castiel looked down at the piece of paper and began to decipher Dean’s messy handwriting. Luckily, it wasn’t a very long note.

_Go out with me?_

Under that, there were two options- either _yes_ or _no_ , and each had a small box next to it.

Castiel’s jaw dropped. “I… You’re… Really..?”

Dean took a shaky breath. “Really.” There were a few seconds of silence as Castiel stared at the piece of paper in his hands, and the last few remaining students in the classroom made their way out into the hallway. “C’mon… Check yes, Juliet.”

Castiel looked at him, still shocked, but then broke out into a smile as he took a pen out of his pocket and checked off the little box next to the _yes_ option. “Literally no other person on Earth would be able to ask me out like this and get a _yes_ in return.”

Dean laughed, a huge weight that he hadn’t even known was there suddenly being lifted off of his shoulders. “I thought it was a great way to ask someone out.”

Castiel rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, Romeo. Let’s go home.”

They left, and Dean didn’t feel nervous about going home today. This was going to be the day he talked to Sam; he was on a roll, after all. Besides, he still had the whole walk home with Cas first. 


	9. scene ix

"So, basically, what I'm trying to say... is that I'm not mad or upset and I don't want you to think I am. I'm happy. This is good for you." Dean paused. He wasn't quite sure how long he'd been rambling for, but there was no going back now. The fact that Sam was sitting there remaining pretty much completely silent wasn't helping very much. "I mean, that doesn't mean I'm not going to miss you, of course. Because, like, I will. But this is probably best, right?"

Sam looked down and pressed his lips together, nodding slightly. "I think so. It was Bobby's idea, but I thought it might... it might work out. Not because I'm not happy here. I'm just..."

He trailed off, and Dean sighed. "Hey, man, I get it. _I'm_ not happy here. I'm moving out as soon as I possibly can, and then you'll have a better place to stay when you come back to visit."

Sam nodded, smiling a bit, and then decided to change the subject. He'd had enough of this conversation. "I mean, you _do_ seem kind of happy today, though."

Dean played with a string that was coming loose on the couch. The TV was still on in the background, but he wasn't paying much attention to it. At the moment he was mostly focused on trying to hide a grin. "I may have gotten a date."

Sam's jaw dropped. "You got a _date_?!"

"You sound very surprised, and I don't know if I should be offended or not."

"Well... No, it's not that," Sam said quickly. "I just thought... I thought you were going to end up..." The middle schooler cut himself off and shook his head. "No, okay, never mind. I don't know what I was thinking. Who do you have a date with?"

This was the part that was going to be a little more difficult for Dean to admit. He wasn't sure why it made him so nervous, but the feeling of butterflies in his stomach at that moment was almost as bad as when he handed Cas that note. "Uh... Well, it's someone you know."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Oh, okay. So I was right, then."

"What?"

"It's Cas, right?"

"How did you know?!" Dean exclaimed.

Sam shrugged. "I mean, I guess I didn't. But I just always kind of figured, you know?" Well, that made sense. If anyone knew Dean well enough to have been able to predict this, it was Sam.

"You can't tell Dad," Dean said immediately.

"I would never," Sam promised. "In fact, I can't think of many things I _would_ tell Dad. But, yeah, you have nothing to worry about, Dean." Now that everything stressful seemed to be out of the way, Sam was excited for the future and happy for his brother. "So, how'd you ask him?"

Dean shrugged and looked away. "Uh, a note."

Sam couldn't help but laugh. "A note? Dean, I'm still in middle school and even I wouldn't write someone a note to ask them out."

"Well, he said yes," Dean pointed out, "so I don't think it was the _worst_ strategy."

"Fair enough. And where are you guys gonna go?"

Dean thought about this for a few seconds. He'd been so preoccupied with asking Cas to go out with him that he hadn't even thought about what would happen if he actually got a _yes_. "Uh..."

"...You have no idea, do you, Dean?"

"Nope."

Sam smiled. "Well, luckily, you have me to help you."


	10. scene x

Dean wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. He’d known Cas for such a long time, and they’d done so much together. The only thing different about tonight was the fact that they were calling it a _date_ , but that seemed to be enough to make Dean’s hands shake.

Going to the park had been Sam’s idea. After an hour of helping Dean come up with ideas for his date, he was beginning to regret his decision to assist his brother. Luckily, that was when he found something online about a festival that was going on at the park all weekend. Dean thought it seemed like something Cas might enjoy, and since it was the only thing he didn't reject, both of the brothers decided that it was the best option.

Now that they were there, Dean was pretty sure this was a good idea. Cas seemed to be enjoying everything. He refused to go on any rides, but Dean knew that didn’t mean he wasn’t having any fun. The way Cas’s eyes kept lighting up when he saw something interesting or when Dean said something that made him happy was a sure sign that he loved this.

“As much as I love wandering aimlessly around the park with you,” Dean began at one point, “I feel like it’s my job to get you to go on at least one ride tonight.”

Cas pondered this. “You can try. It won’t be easy, though, just as a fair warning.”

Dean glanced at the ride closest to them, a giant pirate ship that swung back and forth. “How about that?”

Castiel laughed. “No.”

Dean looked around and spotted the swing ride, which basically just involved sitting down in one of the swings that was attached to an excessively tall pole before being raised higher than the trees and swinging around in circles. “I’m guessing the swings probably aren’t happening.”

Castiel nodded, confirming that assumption. “There’s even less of a chance that I’ll go on the swings than there is that I’d go on the pirate ship.”

“Okay, fair enough.”

They continued walking around, stopping at least twice for snacks, and that was when Dean spotted the Ferris wheel. He knew what he was probably going to get as an answer, but it was worth a try, wasn’t it?

“How about _that_?” Dean questioned, pointing at the ride. It wasn’t a huge Ferris wheel, but it was still big enough to make Dean think Cas would say no.

Castiel seemed to consider the question. “…Okay.”

Even though it was only one word, spoken incredibly hesitantly, this was enough to surprise Dean. “Seriously?”

Castiel shrugged. “Yeah, you know what? Let’s do it.”

“I was not expecting you to say yes to that,” Dean replied, laughing.

“It’s the second _yes_ you’ve managed to get from me,” Castiel replied, smirking.

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“Depends,” Cas answered.

“On what?”

“On whether or not you now realize that _you’re_ scared to go on the Ferris wheel.”

“Never!” Dean exclaimed, very confidently.

Five minutes later, when they were sitting at the top of the Ferris wheel, Dean realized that maybe this wasn’t his best idea.

It wasn’t a fast ride at all, which made it kind of nice, but just being so high up was a bit nerve wracking. The view of everything down below almost made up for the anxiety, but what really made up for it was Cas grabbing Dean’s hand half way through the ride.

Okay, maybe this _was_ one of Dean’s better ideas.

“That was actually fun!” Castiel said excitedly once they finally got off the ride.

Dean nodded slowly. “Yeah…”

“You hated it, didn’t you?” Castiel questioned, giggling.

Hand holding _and_ giggling? “No way, I loved it.”

To end the night, Dean and Cas took a seat at a picnic table far enough away from the festival so that they could have a few quiet minutes just with each other. There was a cool breeze- pretty unusual for an almost-summer night- but Dean was much more focused on Castiel’s shoulder pressed against his than he was on his cold cheeks. Above them, there were lanterns hanging from the trees, giving them just enough light so that Cas could see Dean’s freckles.

“Thank you for asking me to go out with you, Dean,” Cas said, looking up. “This was fun.”

“It was,” Dean agreed. He couldn't help but smile. "Thank you for saying yes. ...Twice."

Castiel looked like he was opening his mouth to say something else, but before he could, he turned away and began coughing harshly.

“I really wish you would see a doctor or something,” Dean said carefully. “That doesn’t sound good… Maybe just get some cold medicine or something?”

“I can’t,” Castiel replied, shaking his head.

Dean was now as confused as he was concerned. “Why not?”

Before he even had the chance to answer, Castiel began coughing again, much more loudly this time. He didn’t even have the chance to turn away. Dean watched for a second, completely unsure of what to do. It wasn’t until he saw some blood on the table that he knew he had to call an ambulance. 


	11. scene xi

The next thing he knew, Dean was shaking and surrounded by white. He wasn’t allowed to go into Cas’s hospital room just yet, so he just sat there in the waiting room of the hospital until he was told that he could go in. Castiel’s dad had showed up a few minutes ago, and he seemed a lot more upset than Dean was expecting. Of course Dean wouldn’t have been surprised to see him reacting nervously and a little bit upset, but he seemed much _angrier_ than he should have been. He even gave Dean what could have been considered a glare as he rushed passed him on the way to his son’s room.

That contributed to Dean’s growing feeling of nervousness, and he began to wonder if he was too quick to call an ambulance. That was the right thing to do, though, wasn’t it? Cas was coughing up blood. That was one of the few outcomes of the night that Dean hadn’t been prepared for.

Then he wondered if Cas’s dad was angry because he figured out that maybe Dean and Cas weren’t at the library studying all night like he’d been told.

It was torturous just sitting there. Dean waited for what felt like forever before a nurse finally came out and told him that he could go in and see Cas, and, surprisingly, it felt like there was something weighing him down when he stood up.

Seeing Cas sitting cross-legged in his hospital bed made things a little better, especially when Cas smiled up at him. He looked pale and exhausted, but Dean definitely couldn’t resist smiling back.

“Hello, Dean.”

“Hey, Cas.”

It was good to see him smile. That meant he wasn’t in _too_ much pain, and it also probably meant that his dad didn’t know about the whole _date_ thing. Speaking of Castiel’s father, he seemed a bit calmer now than he did when he’d first arrived at the hospital, but there was still a strange tension in the room that he appeared to be the source of.

The only other person in the room was a doctor. “You’re the one who called the ambulance, correct?” Dean nodded, and the doctor continued. “Well, it’s good that you did. Your friend is going to be okay- it’s only bronchitis, but it’s definitely on the verge of chronic bronchitis. As you can imagine, we’d like to prevent that, so it’s good that we’ve caught it this early. With the proper medicine, this won’t develop into anything worse.” The doctor then turned to Castiel’s dad. “I think I’m going to give him-”

“Actually,” the father interrupted, “I appreciate what you’ve done here, but I have to refuse any medicine you’re going to try to give us.”

Dean’s relief was quickly replaced by confusion. He looked at Cas to see if he was confused as well, but Castiel just looked… sad.

“I don’t understand,” Dean spoke up. “Medicine will make him better. He was coughing up blood, he clearly needs _something_.”

“I know you don’t understand, Dean,” Castiel’s father replied, looking at the teenager with much more sympathy than anger now. “And that’s why I can’t be mad at you for calling an ambulance. However, I would really appreciate it if you didn’t do it again. See, our family doesn’t believe in any sort of medical treatment. Even being here right now makes me sort of uneasy. In this family, we handle any problems we have by praying. I’ll take Castiel home, and he’ll be healed through our prayers.”

"I really do suggest trying these pills," the doctor encouraged. "Bronchitis isn't a big deal if it's handled right away, but your son has already been coughing up blood. I feel like this could turn into something a lot more harmful."

His father shook his head. "Thank you, but I can not accept."

Now Dean was horrified. He was assuming the doctor wanted to call bullshit on that as much as he did, but there really wasn’t much he could do- causing a scene in the middle of a hospital room wasn’t going to help the situation. His mind went kind of blank, and the only thing that was replaying over and over again in his head was the awful sound of Cas coughing as well as the bright red color of his blood. All he could manage was to choke out, “What if Cas wants medicine?”

“He doesn’t,” Castiel’s father answered sternly. “Now, do you need a ride home, Dean?”


	12. scene xii

Dean held his cup of coffee in both hands, staring down at the papers on the table in front of him. Studying at a cafe instead of on the floor of Castiel's bedroom was definitely a change, but not necessarily a bad one. Cas was sitting in the booth across from him, flipping through his notebook along with a copy of _Romeo and Juliet_ that he'd gotten from the school library.

This was supposed to double as a study session as well as a second date, and it would have been a perfect afternoon if Dean didn't have a million other things on his mind. He wasn't quite sure how Cas could just continue to go about his life, knowing that without medicine he was going to get more and more sick. It had been a week since the incident that took place after their first date, and Dean hadn't stopped being worried since the minute it happened.

Then, of course, Dean couldn't get his brother off of his mind. The school year was ending in only a few more weeks, and then Sam was going to leave. He wasn't even planning on spending the summer at home, which was more than a little depressing. Even though Dean knew that it was best for Sam to spend as little time as possible around their alcoholic father, he was still dreading the day that he'd have to say goodbye to him.

Right now, Shakespeare was the last thing on Dean's mind. This was extremely obvious to Castiel. "Dean, are you alright?"

Dean looked up at him, and immediately looked back down, unable to handle the blue eyes staring back at him. "No."

"What's wrong?" When Castiel was answered only with silence, he sighed. "Dean, if we're going to do the whole _dating_ thing, you have to be able to talk to me."

"I'm worried about you," Dean mumbled, slouching down in his seat and taking a sip of his drink before setting it back down on the table so that he could cross his arms over his chest. "You're sick."

"I'm aware."

"You need medicine."

"Dean, you have to understand that this has been my entire life," Castiel responded, head tilted slightly to the side. "For as long as I can remember, whenever I got sick or whenever Gabriel got sick, there was no medicine. There were no doctors. There were only prayers."

"Do you actually believe that that works?" Dean questioned.

Castiel actually laughed. "Of course not. Neither does my brother; we never have. That's why Gabriel sent me money for this."

He pulled a small bottle out of his coat pocket. It was some sort of over the counter medicine, which probably wasn't as good as what the doctor would have given him, but it was absolutely better than nothing and enough to make Dean feel a bit relieved.

"Has it been working?" Dean asked.

"I've been coughing less, and no blood," Castiel answered with a shrug. "So I think it might be. Either way, I've made it this long without medicine. I think I'll be okay, Dean. Please don't worry about me."

Dean managed a smile. Of course he was still going to worry, but maybe now he wouldn't lose quite as much sleep over the situation. "Okay."

"You're still upset," Cas observed. "I'm assuming you're sad about your brother leaving, and you feel guilty that you're sad because you know that this is best for him, but even knowing that you don't want him to go. And you're nervous about the English exam."

Dean raised his eyebrows, a bit surprised that Castiel's predictions were so spot-on. "You know me way too well."

Castiel smiled. "I do. And do you know what solves basically every problem in the known universe?"

"What?"

"Reading _Romeo and Juliet_ over and over again in hopes that we'll pass our English exams!"

"Whatever you say, Juliet," Dean replied, laughing a bit.

 _"For never was a story of more woe,"_ Castiel began, reading a random line from a page he'd opened up to, " _than this of Juliet and her Romeo."_

"God," Dean breathed out, leaning against the table and gazing tiredly at the old, worn-out book in Castiel's hands. "This play is depressing."

Castiel was silent for a few seconds, and when he finally spoke up, his voice was quiet and sad and nearly broke Dean's heart. "Yeah. It is."


	13. scene xiii

“So when Juliet asks, _wherefore art thou Romeo,_ she isn’t asking where Romeo is,” Mr. Sharma was saying. “Juliet isn’t on the balcony, wondering where her true love is and hoping he’ll show up. What is she actually asking? Dean?”

Dean had actually been paying attention for once in hopes that he could use his English class as a way to stop thinking about everything else in his life. “Uh, she’s asking why his name has to be Romeo.”

“Exactly!” Mr. Sharma exclaimed way too enthusiastically. “Juliet is frustrated because the two families have made it so that a name determines who you are, when in reality, _a rose by any other name would smell as sweet_.”

He began going over some of the other things that were probably going to show up on the exam, which was approaching much too quickly in Dean’s opinion. A few minutes into the English teacher’s rambling, however, Castiel began coughing. Dean immediately felt sick to his stomach knowing that the only thing he could do is hope that he wouldn’t look over and see blood on Cas’s desk.

When it became clear that Castiel wasn’t going to stop coughing, Mr. Sharma stopped the lesson for a second to ask Dean if he would mind taking him to the nurse. Dean nodded quickly and the two of them got up and left the classroom, thankful to now be in the quiet hallway.

“Are you okay?” Dean asked immediately. “Is there any blood?”

“I can taste blood,” Castiel answered quietly. “My chest feels… really heavy.”

“We have to go to the nurse,” Dean replied, unsure of whether or not Cas would even agree to that. “She’ll help you, and your dad probably won’t ever even find out.”

“My father never sent in the forums allowing the nurse to give me medicine,” Castiel answered, coughing in between some of his words. “She won’t be able to do anything.”

Dean really had no idea of what he should do. “What about the medicine you bought with the money from your brother?”

“It was just some kind of cold medicine. It’s not helping anymore.”

He began coughing again, covering his mouth and clutching his chest. Dean could tell that he was clearly in pain, judging by the sound of the coughing as well as the tears in Cas’s eyes.

“Then we’re leaving,” Dean decided, taking Cas by the wrist. “We’ll go outside for a little while. Just until this class is almost over and it’s time to go home.”

“What if we get caught?” Castiel questioned, the words hurting as he spoke. He coughed again and wasn’t quick enough to cover his mouth, resulting in some blood dripping onto the floor of the hallway.

“You’re literally coughing up blood,” Dean answered. “I think we’ve got a pretty good excuse.”

Castiel was silent for a couple of seconds but eventually agreed and they left, making sure to go through the only door where the alarm was broken. That way, nobody would know that they’d slipped out of the school to sit on the ground, their backs against the wall of the building. Cas began coughing again, and once he finally topped, he put both hands on his chest.

“It’s getting easier to breathe,” he said. “I’m light headed, though.”

“It’s going to be okay,” Dean promised him, because he really didn’t know what else to say at this point. He was completely determined to help Cas, though, no matter what it took. “We’re going to figure something out.”

Cas’s eyes were still watering, and he rubbed his eyes in an attempt to get it to stop. “Thank you, Dean. I don’t know what could happen if this continues to go untreated, but I’m… kind of scared. I’ve been praying, but at this point in my life, I’m doubting everything I’ve been forced to believe in.”

“I don’t blame you,” Dean replied quietly. “Prayers aren’t fixing this, and I don’t think they’re going to without the use of any actual medicine. If only your dad would understand that.”

“I know.” Castiel hugged his knees against his chest and leaned against Dean’s arm. The only sound at the moment was his slightly heavier than usual breathing as he tried to catch his breath again after that coughing fit. “I don’t like the way I’ve been raised. Everything is centered around what my dad believes in. No medicine, because God is going to fix it. Being anything other than straight is wrong, because God wouldn’t like that. I’m sick of all of this. I was even _named after an angel._ I hate that, Dean.”

“If there’s anything Juliet knows,” Dean began, “it’s that names don’t matter. Roses would still smell sweet if they weren’t called roses, or whatever.”

Castiel nodded. “You’re right.”

They sat there for as long as they could before their English teacher would probably start to get suspicious, and Cas didn’t have any more coughing fits, which Dean was thankful for. When they finally entered the school once again, with only about five minutes of the day left to endure, they made their way back to the English classroom. That meant they had to pass by the spot on the floor where there was still some of Castiel’s blood- as red as a rose.


	14. scene xiv

The school year ended for Sam a week before it ended for Dean, and that meant two things: Sam would be leaving soon to spend the summer with their uncle before the new school year started, and Dean would have to face his exams. 

This would be the first summer since Sam was born that Dean spent without his brother, and as much as he hated the thought of that, he knew it was for the best. No school meant more time at home with their dad, and the less time Sam spent around him, the better. That was the only reason Dean was okay with Sam leaving. 

Castiel had come over the day before Sam was supposed to leave. He and Dean were sitting on Sam's bed, watching the younger boy finish packing whatever he felt he was going to need.

"I need you to promise that whenever you need something, you won't hesitate to go to Uncle Bobby," Dean told his brother. "And then call me immediately after that."

"Of course," Sam replied. He didn't look very excited about the fact that he was leaving, but he knew as well as Dean did that it was going to be good for him to get out of there. 

"And then, as soon as you come home from your new school to visit, me and Cas will have our own place by then," Dean told him, and Castiel smiled. "You'll never have to step foot in this house again."

Sam nodded. "Thanks, Dean."

Castiel looked at Dean, relief in his eyes. "One more week and I can get away from my dad, too. I'm getting a job as soon as we finish our exams."

"Me, too," Dean agreed. "I'll do whatever it takes for us to get an apartment as soon as possible."

"No more fear of my dad finding out about us," Castiel said happily. "And I'm going to be eighteen in a couple of weeks. Then I'll never need him for anything ever again, and I'll be able to actually get medicine when I'm sick. Can you imagine that?"

As if on cue, he started coughing, turning away from Dean and coughing into his elbow. 

"You okay?" Sam questioned. 

Castiel took a deep breath and lowered his arm, nodding. "No blood. I'm fine. Thank God I'll be eighteen soon- if this doesn't stop, I'll really need to do something about it."

They stayed in Sam's room for a few hours, not really doing much of anything. Dean and Castiel helped him pack for a little while, but he was finished with that pretty quickly, so they started talking about Shakespeare and how nervous Dean was for the English exam. It was nice of Mr. Sharma to offer extra credit questions about _Romeo and Juliet,_ seeing as that was probably going to be the only reason Dean passed. In his other classes, his grades were good enough so that he could completely bomb the exams and still pass the class overall- which was all he was going for, he just wanted to graduate- but his grade in English wasn't quite as high. He really needed to pass that exam. Everything he wanted to accomplish after high school was over depended on it; there wasn't going to be any time to make up his twelfth grade English class. He wanted to move out and get on with his life. 

After a while of Castiel and Dean reenacting a few scenes from _Romeo and Juliet_ while Sam laughed hysterically, Sam decided that he wanted to get some sleep, so Dean and Cas left the room. They could hear Dean's father banging things around upstairs, so Dean told Sam to lock his door, and he and Cas went outside to sit on the steps rather than staying in the house.

"I don't want to go home," Castiel said, resting his head on Dean's shoulder. 

"I can't imagine that it would be better if you stayed here, but you're more than welcome to."

Cas sighed heavily. "You're here. That makes it a lot better. If my dad wasn't expecting me home, I would stay in a heartbeat. But ever since he found out that I was sick, he hasn't been letting me do much. I'm going to have to pray a lot tonight."

"That sucks," Dean replied, unable to imagine how much it must have killed Cas to have to pretend that something he didn't even believe in was going to cure him. "I'm sorry, Cas."

"Thank you, Dean."Castiel coughed, inspecting his arm when he pulled it away to check if there was any blood there. Dean caught a glimpse of the tiny red specks on his skin, but Castiel quickly wiped them away with the bottom of his shirt. "I don't understand how my father can watch me cough up blood and not do anything about it. I was reading online, and this can turn into something so much worse than what it already is. Bronchitis left untreated can kill you, Dean. I can barely breathe sometimes. That's not good."

Dean didn't know what to do. He would have been willing to do anything for Cas, but at that moment, he could barely even think of anything to say. "You're going to be okay. You just have to hang in there for a little while longer, and then we're going to be on your own, and your dad won't be able to say anything about you going to the hospital and getting the help you should have been given in the first place."

Castiel looked up at the now dark sky. "I don't want to be sick. I don't want to die. Air isn't getting to my lungs. Every time I cough up blood, I'm reminded of everything I read online... Once shortness of breath becomes a regular symptom, it could become deadly... There could be a bacterial infection or something. If I can't breathe-"

Dean could tell that he was starting to panic, so he cut him off. "Cas, it's going to be okay. I know you're scared. Hell, I'm terrified. But we're going to fix this, okay? I know you're going to be okay. We'll do whatever it takes to make sure of that. Just keep praying with your dad to keep him happy and keep reading Shakespeare to make sure that you know everything that could possibly be on that exam. As soon as school ends, we're free, and we're going to get you whatever you need to get better."

Cas sighed, but nodded. "You're right. There's no use in panicking. I'll just... I'll just keep praying and studying." He rubbed his eyes, and then looked back up at the sky again. "It's up to the stars, I guess."

Dean looked up as well. He tried not to think about the fact that it was up to the stars when it came to Romeo and Juliet, too.


End file.
